Digital marketing has become the new business 'it' term, dominating planning and spending for small and large businesses alike as companies attempt to connect with their target audience and boost their sales. However, demonstrable strength in this area could also be a valuable factor should you decide to sell your business.
We've explored how some of the main areas of digital marketing could make your business stand out from the crowd and be more attractive to potential buyers.
The power of social media
These days, a social media presence is not just useful, it's practically a necessity. If potential customers are unable to find you on at least one of the major social networks they have less access to reviews from previous customers and less opportunity to establish your brand's attitude. Both of these issues can put customers off, and that means putting off potential buyers.
By establishing a social media presence that reflects your brand's tone of voice, values and offerings, you can easily engage with your customers and eventually create a strong following of digital fans. For buyers, this means instant access to a wide pool of interested potential customers, as well as an opportunity to learn more about the current attitude and approach of a business they'd like to purchase.
A carefully nurtured email list
Aside from social media, email marketing is the ruler of the digital marketing world. However, with the introduction of GDPR many small businesses have lost the vast email marketing lists they once possessed. Thankfully, this has provided some more savvy businesses with the chance to gain the upper hand.
By dedicating time and budget to regrowing and engaging with your email list, you can ensure your business stands out from similar companies. And if you can prove that your email click rate is consistently high you might even be able to push your sale price up; let's face it, instant access to thousands of interested parties isn't something to scoff at.
Brandishing your backlinks
Building relationships with other businesses inside and outside of your industry can be invaluable, providing you with easy access to advice, skills and even recommendations. Backlinks are essentially a digital version of these relationships, helping you prove your authority in your area of expertise and also pushing you up the search rankings.
Creating backlinks takes a lot of work and requires a huge amount of outreach to other companies; some companies will want to 'linkswap' while others will expect some high quality content in exchange for a link. However, the domain authority you can gain through this exercise will put your business in good stead even if a new buyer wants to alter the direction the business is going in, making it a key aspect of digital marketing to tackle if a sale is on the cards in the next 12 months.
Partnerships with influencers
The term 'influencers' is a new one, but it's a hot topic of conversation in the world of marketing. In many respects, celebrities and other industry personalities are starting to dictate the success of certain online brands, making and breaking reputations in a matter of seconds.
Of course, consistently high levels of customer service is one way of avoiding the naughty list, which is always a positive when it comes to managing your brand's reputation. However, if you can gain valuable relationships with influencers you could have unlocked an endless stream of reputation boosting that can be handed down to any new buyer with ease.
There are so many aspects of digital marketing that it's not possible to pinpoint the perfect strategy for boosting attraction to company buyers, but dedicating time and budget to increasing your success in this area will ensure your catch the eye of the more discerning buyer.
